Seating to be bipartisan at Union address

by Susan Davis - Jan. 23, 2012 11:06 PMUSA Today

WASHINGTON - As part of an assignment for a history class, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's son has to monitor where lawmakers are seated during President Obama's State of the Union address tonight.

"I'm sure it is part of this, 'We're all sitting together' " tradition, Cantor told reporters on Monday.

It's a sign of the popularity and public awareness of bipartisan seating arrangements -- now in its second year -- that it has trickled down to the level of high-school homework.

Lawmakers generally approve of the effort to mix up the party line that normally divides the House chamber. As of Monday, over 180 members had committed to a bipartisan seatmate.

Despite the embrace, there remains widespread skepticism that the burgeoning tradition is anything more than a cosmetic fix for a problem that rests deep below the surface of Washington.

"I do think there is some sort of desire to see the Congress get along better, and this perhaps in the eyes of some is a manifestation of that," said Cantor, a seating skeptic. "I think there are a lot more meaningful ways that we can achieve that going forward."

Bipartisan seating was initially prompted last year in the wake of the January 2011 shooting attack against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., as a symbolic display of solidarity. Giffords is resigning from Congress this week to focus on her ongoing recovery related to a gunshot wound to the left side of her brain. She will attend Obama's address as one of her last acts as member of Congress.

Two senators, Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski and Colorado Democrat Mark Udall, support making bipartisan seating permanent, although their efforts are largely symbolic because there are no rules that govern where members can sit in the House chamber. The only thing preventing lawmakers from sitting along mixed party lines during addresses is themselves and prior tradition.

Advocates of bipartisan seating arrangements say the effort has at least prompted a broader conversation about how to reform Washington to be more effective. "This is not totally inconsequential," said Matt Bennett, a co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way that has advocated for the seating plan. The group has also advocated for members of Congress to host a bipartisan retreat to foster better relationships.

"They don't socialize, they don't mingle, they don't ever see each other except across the dais or shouting at each other across the floor," he said.

Lawmakers have ideas of their own. Cantor said during his time in the Virginia Legislature, lawmakers benefited from joint cloakrooms and regular social events at the governor's mansion. The majority leader also said Obama could do his part by hosting more events at the White House. "There's been no leadership by this White House in helping facilitate an environment where you can get something done from a legislative stand point," Cantor said.